Brake-operating mechanism.



N. KROHN. BRAKE OPERATING MECHANISIIII;

APPLICATION FILED .IULY I9, I9I5.

Patented Mar. 14,1916.

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NELS KROI-IN, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 THE ADAMS @c WESTLAKE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

BRAKE-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Application led July 19, 1915.

To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, NnLs KROHN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brake- Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a specification, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

The invention relates to mechanism for operating the brakes of railway cars, and of the type in which a pawl is oscillatably mounted within a casing which swings about the axis of the brake staff, the pawl being provided with a handle whereby it may be thrown into engagement with the coperating ratchet on the staff' by the brake-winding movement.' A device of this kind is shown and broadly claimed in my copend* ing application Serial No. 40,726.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple and cheap yet effective form of construction; and it consists of a structure such as is hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a detail plan view of the device with thetop plate of the ratchet and pawl-inclosing casing removed; Fig. 2 is a detail side elevation of the device; and Fig. 3 is a detail plan section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

A brake staff of ordinary construction is represented at 10 and, as usual, is provided with a brake chain 11. rIhe upper end of the staff is journaled in a bracket 12, adapted for attachment to a car. A holding ratchet 13 is shown as mounted upon the staff immediately below the bearing for its upper end, a hand-controlled pawl 14e being.

pivoted to the bracket 12 for cooperating with this ratchet. A spur-faced ratchet wheel 15 is fixed upon the staff 10, and for convenience in assembling the parts the ratchet 13 is provided with a sleeve 16 which extends upwardly on the staff and forms the journal therefor; and the ratchet wheel 15 is mounted upon this sleeve. A single pin 17 serves to secure both ratchets to the staff'.

A casing 18 is mounted upon the upper end of the staff above its bearing in the bracket 12, and incloses the ratchet wheel 15, and is free to oscillate about the staff axis. A pawl 19, mounted within the casing 18, coperates with the ratchet wheel Specification of Letters Patent.

. brake.

Patented Mar. 14.-, 1916.

Serial No. 40,725.

15. This pawl is provided with a hub 20,

having on its side faces curved bearing surfaces 21, 22, which fit between and slidably engage similar faces formed in the side walls of the casing 18, thereby retaining the pawl in proper position and permitting its engagement with and disengagement from the teeth of the ratchet wheel 15.

An operating handle 23 is attached to the outer end of the pawl 19, and is shown as being secured thereto by means of a pivot pin 24, which permits it to be swung vertically or toward and away from the staff. Vhen the handle 23 is in its extended position and is swung forwardly, it first throws the nose of the pawl 19 into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 15, and then carries the pawl, the casing, the ratchet wheel and the staffl forward to wind up the Upon movement in the opposite direction it first rocks the pawl on its bearn ings in the casing, disengaging its nose from the ratchet wheel, and then swings the pawl and casing backwardly,-the ratchet wheel and stad being held against retrograde movement by the holding ratchet 13. When the operating handle is not in use it is swung backwardly to the limit of its movement, the casing engaging a stop 25 formed on the bracket 12. Should a rigid handle be used, any suitable means for holding it in its retracted position may be provided. When a drop handle is employed, such as shown, provision is made for holding the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet when the handle is dropped. For that purpose there is shown a cam finger 26, formed on the bottom of the casing 18, and positioned to engage and defiect the handle backwardly as it drops.

A cover plate 27 is applied to the top of the casing 12 for the purpose of excluding dirt, and serving, also, as a bearing on the staff 10.

I claim as my invention,-

1. In a brake mechanism, in combination, a rotatable staff, a ratchet fixed thereon, a casing oscillatable about the staff axis, a pawl cooperating with the ratchet and having a bearing hub journaled in the casing, and a handle attached to the pawl.

2. In a brake mechanism, in combination, a rotatable staff, a ratchet fixed thereon, a pawl coperating with the ratchet and having curved bearing faces, a casing inclosing the pawl and having curved bearing faces engaging the bearing faces thereof, and a handle attached to the pawl.

3. In a brake mechanism, in combination,

5 a rotatable stalf, a ratchet fixed thereon, a

pawl cooperating with the ratchet and having lateral curved bearing faces, a casing nclosing the pawl and having curved bearin g faces engaging the bearing faces thereof, a handle pivotally attached to the pawl, and-a 'cam on the casing'for deflecting the handle when swung toward the staff for disengaging the pawl from the ratchet.

NELS KROHN.

Copies of this patent may be lobtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

- Washington, D. C. 

